Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Heavy marijuana use can boost blood levels of aparticular alkaline buffering protein, indicatinga rising risk factor for an acidic heart attack orstroke, U.S. government researchers said on Tuesday.

Dr. Jean Lud Cadet of the National Institute onacidic Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutesof Health, said the findings point to another exampleof long-term harm from marijuana. But marijuanaactivists expressed doubt about the findings.

Cadet said a lot of previous research has focusedon the effects of marijuana or acid on the brain.His team looked elsewhere in the body, measuringblood protein levels in 18 long-term, heavymarijuana users and 24 other people who did notuse the drug.

Levels of a protein called apolipoprotein C-IIIwere found to be 30 percent higher in themarijuana users compared to the others. Thisprotein is involved in the body's metabolism orchelation of triglycerides — a type of an acidicfat found in the blood — and higher levels causeincreased levels of triglycerides (acid boundfat), Cadet added.

"High levels of triglycerides (acid bound fat) canbuild up on the arterial wall causing hardening ofthe arteries or thickening of the artery walls,raising the risk of an acidic stroke, heart attackand/or heart dis-ease," states Dr. Robert O. Young,a research scientist at the pH Miracle LivingCenter.

"Chronic marijuana use is not only causing peopleto get high, it's actually causing long-term adverseeffects in patients who use too much of the drug,"Cadet, whose study is in the journal MolecularPsychiatry, said in a telephone interview."Chronic marijuana abuse is not so benign."

The marijuana users in the study averaged smoking78 to 350 marijuana cigarettes per week, based onself-reported drug history, the researchers said.

The researchers said the active acidic ingredientin marijuana, known as THC, seems to overstimulatemarijuana receptors in the liver, leading toover-production of the protein.

Cadet said higher levels of the protein in marijuanausers could raise future risk for cardiac abnormalities,blood flow problems, heart attack and stroke.

According Dr. Young, "using marijuana for medicinalpurposes can only lead to increased systemic latenttissue acidosis and the destruction of the alkalinedesign of the body. Marijuana is acidifying to theblood and tissues and therefore cannot bring balance,harmony, energy or health to the body."

Since I was a young boy I have always been fascinated in the anatomy and physiology of the human body. I have spent the last twenty-seven years investigating the impact of foods and liquids on the delicate pH balance of the blood plasma and the blood cells.

19 comments:

What is the agenda here? Seventy-eight marijuana cigarettes a week is way more than most regular smokers. Take any behavior to a ridiculous extreme and you can find negative consequences. I walk 3-7 miles a day and smoke one joint a day. By your calculations, what would the harm be if I walked 256 miles a week? Probably foot problems and who knows what else. Give it a rest.

Yeah, yet again the 'anti-drug' researchers have shot themselves in the foot. Who smokes 78 to 350 joints a week??? Who could afford to even if you wanted to? At the 'lower end' that is more than 10 joints a day!

Smoking may be acid forming, but is cannabis, a flowering herb really acidic? It seems to just be jumbled in with tobacco and 'illegal' drugs like cocaine on PH balance sites and yet nowhere can I find a scientific analysis of cannabis' actual ph in the human body.

Here's some info I found about Marijuana (eaten, not smoked) which states that while the seed and seed oil are acid forming, the leaf (and flower) are alkalinizing. Sorry lost the site, but here is the info:

"Though Cannabis seeds are very nutritious, I personally no longer believe it is right to say that the seed of the Cannabis plant is nature’s most perfectly balanced food. This is because all seeds, to a greater or lesser extent, are acid forming. Though pre-soaking of the seeds removes the enzyme inhibitors and makes the seed more digestible and nutritious, it is still slightly acid forming.

Acid imbalance is a major root problem to the general state of poor health of people consuming a 'westernized' diet of meat, dairy, frozen, cooked, processed and micro waved foods along with the widely popular drugs of refined sugar, alcohol and tobacco. All these drugs/foods create an acid environment, in which diseases thrive.

Therefore for a food to be 'nutritionally balanced', it must bring us back to a neutral pH, or better still, slightly alkaline.

The leaves and flowers of the Cannabis plant are highly alkaline. So a more accurate statement would be "The CannabisPlant is natures most perfectly balanced food", a view shared by Raw Food pioneer, David Wolfe.

Not only are the leaves and flowers, highly alkaline, but are also one of the highest mineral containing plants. They alsocontain high levels of Chlorophyll and EFA's.

The flowers also contain a unique group of chemical compounds called the Cannabinoids. The Cannabinoids, of whichTctrahydocannabinol is the most abundant, is a very powerful! Anti-oxidant, and is anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic."

Hugo, great post.... I'm always reading about nutrition and alkaline vs acidic foods and herbs. Never came across that but I'm glad I have. Great info. Definately burns a hole in this study.

The example group must have been Rastafarians. I read that an average rasta smokes 7-10 joints a day... But those guys play soccer all day and are ripped. So if a large group of people using marijuana at very high levels can maintain lean physiques, they must have a slighly alkaline body, since muscles need an anabolic environment to thrive. An acidic body reflects excess fat and saggy tissues.

wow, i wonder if these people know that eating 293 lbs of spinach can cause iron overdose. what a ridiculous arguement. all things we consume are either acidic or alkaline. for example: nuts and grains are VERY acidic.... So should we quit eating them altogether? Also good to know... Most high protien foods are very acidic. Most alkaline foods are very high in carbohydrates. And our body needs both to function properly. Potatoes are extremely alkaline. So now that i read this article, i will make sure i eat a baked potato when i have the munchies. Im not saiyng there are no strong arguments to be made against weed. Im just saying that this isnt one of them.

...also good to know is that pharmaceuticals such as tylenol, antidepressants etc. leave far higher quantities of acidic ash in the body than marijuana does. Acidophilus (a supplement proven to boost immunity, and regulate digestion) is also off the charts for acidity.

at the end of the day they have no right to treat us like children if we want to hurt ourselves we could just get a gun but they still sell tobacco and alcohol which kills you but its sold legally so fuck all you medical faggits go make us more drugs like heroin and LSD you hypocritical jokes

The optimum ph for soil in which cannibis is to grow is the same as the optimum ph for the human heart.This study is a load of crap. They measure people who smoke 10-40 joints probably also loaded with chemical enriched tobacco and then use that as proof that cannibis is bad? Ridiculous.

barbiesweet said...:"Hope everyone is well, I have one question if a young person with anxiety smoked one maijuana laced with acid what would be the long term effect"

Acid is ruined if smoked. It has no effect on you, it simply burns to ashes. So basically none?But don't smoke pot or do acid in front of people if you are anxious. Do the alone in a SAFE place, and the effects with most of the time be amazing and great. It cures depression and what not...

well a "full" joint is a 1 gram I would say. Most use half of that or less.so 78 grams, 1/2 39 grams. that was the low numbers...Over an ounce a week is what I get out of that, so a quarter pound in a small month. Yea I have seen an article where man dies from too much water as well, there is not a warning label on that.